Different perspectives

I like to think I have a good understanding of what is going on around me. I like to think that I understand those people who are important to me and who I spend my time with. But what I think is going through there mind and what is truly playing out in their minds can be quite different.

Is this worthy of a blog post? We will soon find out =P

I think one of the easiest mistakes that anyone can make with another person is to assume. Whether it be assume how the person is feeling, how they will react or what they want to do...assuming will inevitably lead to troubles.

There have been times where I have thought I was pretty good at knowing how people will react and then I have tried to act according to the way that will make that person happy...but is this the best way to act?

Recently I have discovered that no matter what you believe...no matter how you feel...it is sometimes best to just let situations unfold and not try to predict the ending. Just keep it simple! I have a habit...a bad habit some might say...of wanting everything to be perfect. While not entirely a bad thing, it does have its disadvantages...but I am slowly but surely learning to allow things to fall the way they will fall and not getting too caught up in the outcome. In the past I was always overly concerned that I would regret the outcome if it wasnt as I expected...but I now realise that if I continue to act like this, there will be things that I miss out on in the aftermath due to my attitude and actions resulting from the initial poor result.

Does this have any biblical significance? I believe it does...in a subtle way. I have given my life to God, each day I immerse myself in His words in various ways and I continually strive to serve in His kingdom. Through these things, I am continually strengthening my biblical principles, the values I live by...and most of all...i am becoming more Christ like. It is through all this that my focus shifts from things that are insignificant...like whether the outcome is perfect...to things which are significant...such as seeing those people close to me find Jesus before its too late. It is when we are close to Christ Jesus that we can clearly see...for He is the light of our lives!

So to wrap things up...I think we need to take a step back sometimes and just let things pan out the way the will. This is in no way saying that we should become complacent and/or lazy...quite the opposite. We must be prepared, we can do the setup and the hard work along the way...but in the end...as long as we have put in our best, there is nothing more that we can do than sit back and enjoy the results.

There will be times where we have given the situation our very best, 110% of our strength and effort, but in the end the situation has failed, fallen apart. Its at times like this we may begin to doubt ourselves, did we put in enough effort, have I truly done all I can do? But this is the times that I encourage you to allow things finish the way they do. For I truly believe that when we life for Jesus, when we apply His words in our lives, its in these situations where we need not be concerned by the outcomes, for our Lord has our prayers in his hands and wants to see us happy and filled with joy. This means when things dont work out, we just pick ourselves up, smile...and praise God for all He has done and all He will continue to do in our lives!

Value of time

We have 24 hours in a day...we spend between 8-10...maybe more...in the work place...maybe an hour or so commuting to and from work...we spend another hour or so eating...and of course there is the 6-8 hours we spend sleeping....when you add all that up, we really only have around 2-3 hours free each day to do our own thing. Not a lot when you look at it in perspective! But it does highlight one significant factor...how valuable time truly is!

Anyone who knows me will be aware I like to plan things, I like to be organised and most of all I like to be punctual. Some people may criticise me over this, some may joke about it and say I have OCD...but it comes back to the fact that time so valuable and we must make the most of the time we have! You actually hear that all the time...we must not waste our lives...for we are only here for a short time...so again we must be organised and not waste the time we have got!

So then how do you spend that free time you have? Do you spend it watching TV? Doing some form of exercise? Reading? Or do you give that time to others? When you think about how little time we have...you could almost use that as an excuse to do your own thing whenever you get the opportunity.

But thats not how we are called to live our lives. For it says in Philippians 2:4-5 the following -

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus

We are called to value others above ourselves, to put the needs of other above ourselves. On the surface, it may sound easy, but when you reflect on how little time we have for ourselves...it does appear a lot harder.

But does that make it justified to reject others when they are in need? If someone needs your help, they are in trouble, or they simply need your skills to assist them...would you be there for them? I think most people would say a definite yes.

But what about under simpler circumstances...just spending time with another person, talking with that person, listening to that person. Do we get wrapped up in the busyness of life, that at times we dont stop and give people the time of day?

There is a friend of mine, and this friend is always too busy to meet up. Whenever I contact them to meet, they will tell me there too busy, despite their longing to catchup. Or when we finally find a time that we are both free, I can rest assured that a few hours before our scheduled time to meet I will get a message stating that they cannot make it for some reason or another. Putting yourself in this situation, it is not a good feeling. Is there time more valuable than your own?

But then when I continued to reflect on this...I realised that there are times that I am guilty of similiar things. One example of this is with an elderly man in the gym I go to. This man is one of the kindest people I know, he always stops to have a chat to me, he is always interested in what has been going on in my life. He will ask me questions about my job, about my workouts and even my non-existent love life. But no matter what time of the day...he enjoys taking the time to chat to me! But there are times when Im in a hurry, rushing to my next appointment, that I dont just stop and give this man the time he deserves. Is my time more precious than his? Is my time more valuable? Of course not!

But this is also true with God. How much quality time do you give God? God is no different to us...He longs for relationship with us...He longs for time with us...because He loves us. That is why God also feels pain when we neglect that relationship. When we make ourselves too busy with the goings on our simple lives. God wants to spend time with us...he wants us to enter his presense.

But you can even think of it another way...has there been times when you have needed a friend...you have called them only to discover they are too busy for you? This must have happened at very least once to all of us. But is there ever a time when we call on the Lord and we get the engaged tone? Is there ever a time that the Lord allows us prayers to go through to the message bank? Do we even consider the possibility that God is busy when we call on Him in our times of need? Of course not!! The very thought is preposterous! But it should highlight one important thing...that being the fact that where others may be unavailable to us in our time of need...our loving Father in Heaven is always with us and never unavailable!

Therefore we must never take the time we have with God for granted, instead we should rejoice in the fact that our Lord and Savior is always with us. In all situations He goes before us. There is one particular verse that I like in relation to this from Psalm 62:6 -

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

But we must also realise the significance of spending time with others. We know that time is precious and that is why it means so much when someone gives us there time. We must learn to slow down and appreciate the time we have. Ultimately the reason people give their time to you is because they care about you, because you mean something to them! Thinking about that...how can you help but feel moved when someone asks to spend time with you?

I reflect on my time in China on the mission trip. I took a large amount of supplies with me to deliver to the Welfare center, which included toys of various descriptions. But after spending two weeks in China with those beautiful children, I realised that its not the toys that made them smile, its not the specific games we played with them...but instead it was simply the fact that we were giving them our time, we were giving them our attention. The perfect example of this was when we went for our day trip to the zoo. The boy who I was taking care of for the day, FuRui, it turned out he totally disliked animals and was actually quite afraid. But that didnt stop him from smiling...all he wanted was for me to hold his hand. Thats all! Just having me with him for the day...thats all he wanted...and that made him for of joy and happiness.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

(Psalm 34:8)

New day...

I must admit lately, I haven't felt the best. I have felt like I have been struggling to get by, battling to succeed and generally having a tough time. I have asked God why certain things have happened and why other certain things have not happened.

There are times I just try to do things by my own strength, where I feel that I can do it on my own and I dont need God's hand. But this is a big trap that I must stop myself from falling into. Everything I have is from God. Every ability, every skill, every talent...they are all from God. When you break it down, there really is nothing that I can do myself...for I am nothing but a broken vessel. But when I give God the opportunity to take hold of the situations...it is then that I truly see great things occur.

I know that when I submit to God...things wont always be perfect. There will still be bumps in the road, there will still be trials, there will still be times when I question God as to why we must take the path that I am on. But time and time again, I see that when I am faithful, when I allow God to guide me...the end result is always what I need.

I say "what I need"...because there are times that what I want and what I need conflict with each other. But our Lord in heaven knows what I really need. This doesnt mean that I blindly follow Him...but rather I realised in the past that if there are times when Im praying for things that Im not getting and when I look back in hindsight I realise that the very thing I wanted would have ultimately caused more trouble for me than I need.

But God does want to grant the desires of our hearts. He has put desires in our hearts, and whether it be for a beautiful person you long to be your partner or simply a delicious food...we hear in Psalm 20 (verses 4-5) that God truly wants to grant our prayers -

May he give you the desire of your heart
   and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy over your victory
   and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
   May the LORD grant all your requests.

Simply put...God wants us to be happy. As long as we are faithful to God...He will be faithful to us.

Each morning we wake up ...we have a choice to either look at what we have or look at what we dont have. We have a choice to rejoice in a new day...or to grumble over what awaits us.

God has blessed me so abundantly...in more ways than I realise at times. I have beautiful friends...amazing family....a good job....good health...everything I need.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 
He makes me lie down in green pastures, 
he leads me beside quiet waters, 
he refreshes my soul. 
He guides me along the right paths 
   for his name’s sake. 
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, 
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23)

We are truly free!

Last week we were lucky enough to have a guest speaker at church by the name of Lisa McInnes-Smith come and speak to us. She is a well known public speaker and it was quite encouraging to hear what she had to share with us over the weekend. This week we had our senior pastor deliver the word...and as anyone who has ever been to Bridge Church before will know...Ps David Doery is an awesome man of God, and when he takes to the stage, you just know that he is going to bring the powerful word of God with him!

Despite the fact we had two different people speak at church in the last fortnight, there was one point that came through from both of them, and that is the point that "we are free". You might think you already know that, but how free do you really think you are? How easily are you affected by what others think of you when you stand out from the crowd? I know this is something that I think about at times when it comes to Kid's Alive. Serving in the kids ministry, you need to step forward and not let the thoughts of others have any bearing on your actions.

But when I talk about the point that we are free, im talking about more than the fact that we are free from what others think. When we give our life to Christ, to put it simply...we are free from the sin that has bound us in the past. We are no longer restricted by these things, they no longer have a hold on our lives

Has there ever been a time when you have made a mistake in your life, where you have hurt someone who is important to you? Have they been so hurt that they have said to you something along the lines of that they would "never forgive you"?  That they could never forget what you did? Personally I find this is one of the most heartbreaking circumstances, extremely difficult positions to be in. Its at times like this that we feel hopeless, that there is nothing that we can do, that no matter what we say or do...we have hurt the person that much that they have completely turned their backs on us.

But you know the funny thing...the one that we have hurt the most...more than any person in our lives on Earth...is our Savior in heaven...Christ Jesus. For he gave His life for us...but we continue to turn our backs on Him, to ignore Him and ultimately hurt His feelings. But no matter what we say or do, no matter how many times we make the same mistakes...He will always be there waiting for us with open arms. I really pray that you ponder that point...just like there is nothing you can do to make God love you, there is nothing that you can do that will stop our God from loving you.

I know that when I ponder this...I realise firstly how great it is that despite our mistakes in the past we are free and not bound by our past. But secondly I cant help but just praise Jesus for how great His love is for us! Words truly cannot express how much I want to praise Jesus from the roof and thank Him for all He has done and basically how much He loves me! Knowing this, we can walk forward boldly...for nothing holds us back...we are truly free!

Love of my life

I disappeared...I have taken some time away to think...but I now have a few notes to share. The past month has had its share of ups and downs, you could say its been a lot like a roller-coaster. But throughout the process I have kept one thing constant, and that is my focus on my heavenly Father.

Anyway...enough of an introduction, I wanted to share on a topic that has been on my mind quite a bit over the past month...hopefully it wont turn into a load of nonsense...hopefully it will be coherent...hopefully it will be of some value to you.

Love, romance, intimacy...those feelings when you hold someone close that is dear to you. These are feelings a lot of us long for...myself included. I have had relationships in the past, but in the end it hasn't worked or I have messed it up. But that hasn't stopped me looking for that special someone.

We all long for intimacy, that assurance that we have someone who will never fail us, who will be there for us anytime and anyplace. We chase after that person who will be there when we need them.

We long for understanding, for someone who knows what we have been through, but also knows how we felt during those times. When we are mad we want that person to understand why we are mad, when we are happy, we want that person to ride the wave with us.

We desire someone who wont judge us, no matter what we say, what we reveal or how we react to different situations.

We look for that person who wont change, but at the same time someone who we wont grow tired of. We search for that person who will grow with us over the journey.

We dont want to be smothered in the relationship, but rather we look for someone who will help us achieve our goals, to reach for the stars as they say...no matter how unachievable those goals are.

But ultimately we just look for that perfect fit for the person we are. The one who will never leave us, never hurt us, the one who will always satisfy us, who will always be faithful...who will always love us for who we are.

But how many of us can realistically say that we believe that person will come along into our lives and be all those things for us and more?

The reality is no one person on this Earth can fit this bill exactly, not even close. But there is one who can fit all these things perfectly...our loving God in Heaven!

You might think of this as an anti-climax...you might say "so that means I am going to be alone then?" or "so i need to settle for someone who is less than perfect?"
Im not saying those things, for while no one can ever fit the perfect mould of God, our loving Father never planned for us to be alone as we saw with Adam and Eve. That is why God will place people into our lives, people that he has planned to be part of our lives.

 But before we start looking for that Mr or Mrs Right...we need to ensure that our hearts focus is first and foremost on God. God is the only one who can fit our desires perfectly, but if our heart is focus shifts we are setting ourselves up for failure!

So what is the key to success in the relationship? Well I should start by saying my success rate for relationships is currently zero...so take my words with a grain of salt.

But as I look over the failures, I try to learn from my mistakes. But in the end I think that the success of any relationship remains the same, whether it be between you and your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife or God.

When we are in a relationship with someone, we need to give our all for that person and accept that person for who they are and what they have...which includes both the good and the bad. The perfect example of this is our relationship with Jesus Christ, our savior. He loves us despite our inequities, for He takes our sin upon Himself. So basically we get His blessings, His grace, His perfect nature and in return He takes our sin, our wickedness, our mistakes. Doesnt really sound fair, but when you love someone...you accept them for who they are and what they have, whether they have $1,000,000 or only $1.

Another thing that comes into play is the issue of compromise. What are you willing to give up for that person that you love, whether it be God or your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife? Are you willing to give up those things that you are attracted to, those things that you enjoy, even the things that are harmless? At the end of the day, what is more important? And what is too much to compromise?

In the end, although God has made us so that we can find that right person, that one that will love us...that person is never meant to take the attention from God. Our central focus must always remain on God, our creator, our Father in heaven. God is the only one who can truly satisfy all our desires, all our needs and we must realise how much God truly loves us...we need look no further than the simple fact that He gave His only son for us!


A few points I want to expand a bit more...maybe even share some of my experiences...but I think I have rambled enough for tonight.

Melbourne Half Marathon and Survival Mode

Well I did the Melbourne half marathon yesterday, 21.1 km which trekked from the inner city up to albert park and around about, then back to the city and finished up with a lap of the MCG. Being my first run of this type, I was a little unsure of how to approach it and how I would go. In the end I finished it successfully and while I feel I could have done better if I prepared differently,  I am still happy with the outcome....even though noone was at the finish line cheering for me =P

As I reflect back on the run, there are elements that I feel I would have approached differently. In some ways I feel that for the second half of the run I was in survival mode, just looking to reach the end anyway I could. I wasnt enjoying the run as much as the first half and this made it all the more painful.

The interesting thing about this is that in some ways it relates to what was preached at church on Saturday night. Pastor David was talking about how we need to stop living in survival mode and stepping out into the blessings of God, grabbing the promises that God has made for us. We dont need to live a life where we are only just getting by. We should be living lives that are overflowing with the blessings of God. But sometimes we are just too focused on just getting by, just surviving, that we miss the bigger picture.

In John 10:10 we hear Jesus say the following:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

We must never forget what Jesus is saying here. We are to have life to the full, not half way, not partial, but to the full! We must not just look at what we need to get through another day. For we all have the blessings of God on our lives, for He wants to bless us in far more ways than we could ever imagine, just as it says in Ephesians 3:20 -

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

 So when I reflect on this now, I know that next time, and there definitely will be a next time, next time I do a run of this type, I will just relax and enjoy the ride more...and i know that in the end I will ultimately enjoy it much more and hopefully get a better time while I am at it!

It is good to praise the LORD
    and make music to your name, O Most High,

to proclaim your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,

to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
    I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

How great are your works, O LORD,
    how profound your thoughts!

(Psalm 92:1-5)

Doing Good Deeds

Yeah I know..."Doing Good Deeds" is such a simplistic topic...most people wont even give it a second read...but I encourage you to read on as I feel that there will be something valuable for everyone in this piece...I know you might think that there are more interesting things to do such as play Facebook...but give it a chance...and if you still dont like it after you finish reading...well bad luck =P

When we give our lives to Christ, we are transformed, we are a new being. Through this transformation we become more Christ-like and take on his characteristics...which include doing good unto others. While I trust that you all would at some point do good deeds for others in different forms, but what heart do you do it with? What about when you are in a bad mood and things arent going well for you? Do you still feel the passion to do good deeds for others?

God has a purpose for our lives, this is something I have talked about in the past. We are called to walk with Him, but this is not the extent of our calling. It is not God's desire that we spend our time within the walls of the church, but instead its His purpose that we also work with Him! When we bring the two elements of WALKING and WORKING together, its then that our lives begin to get exciting. This is evident in Matthew 4:19 where Jesus calls Simon Peter to follow Him -

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

He didnt just tell Peter to walk with him, but rather He called Peter to be a worker for the Kingdom of God.

Another piece of scripture which I really like on this topic is 1 Peter 2:9-15 - 

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

One of the key things that always stands out to me when reading this is the point that we the chosen people and a people belonging to God! How awesome is that...we are the chosen people! Therefore despite the battles and negative influences we face in our daily lives, we are encouraged to continue doing good deeds which ultimately glorify God.

So we know that we were created for a purpose, which is to do good things, sowing seeds for the kingdom of God in the world.

One of the other encouraging elements of this is that doing good deeds is for anyone who has a heart who wants to make a difference. When Jesus came down from Heaven, He made a difference in this world, and as we are continually transformed in character to be more and more like Christ, we too need to possess a heart that desires to make a difference in this fallen world! God has given us the skills and spiritual gifts which are going to make a difference in the lives of others around us, and it is when we are out there making a difference that the world will know that we care from our works and actions. For we must remember that nothing we do for the Lord is ever pointless, as it says in 1 Corinthians 15:58 -

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Another example from the Bible that always held significant meaning for me was Acts 3:1-10 where it tells of when Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar. Peter were just going about their everyday, normal life, when they were confronted with the opportunity to do a good deed, to make a difference in the world.

One of the reservations people can have when it comes to doing good deeds is the feeling that it will cost too much. It is true that good deeds will cost something, but they will not cost us everything. For God is only asking that we give back what we have received from Him. We are not called to give everything up, just as it states in 1 Corinthians 16:2 -

On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

It is true that times we will feel overwhelmed thinking that we cannot meet all the needs around us, but God doesn't call us to meet every need, but instead just what we are capable of.

Going back to the example earlier from Acts 3, Peter and John didn't feel overwhelmed when they were confronted by the crippled beggar. They didn't have gold or silver to give him. But they gave him what he was truly in need of, they gave him faith, an encounter with God, a supernatural change in his life! They had something in their lives which the beggar needed.

Sometimes we need to stop and think about - what do we have in our lives that we can sow into someone else life?

Finally, good deeds start right where we are today! Some people automatically relate doing good deeds with going far away on mission. But great works begin at home,  a perfect example is Bridge Church reaching out to the local public housing estate. Opportunities to do good deeds exist right where we are now, in our everyday lives. But the important thing is we recognize these opportunities when they come. This highlights the significance of being sensitive to when the Lord speaks to us, prompting us in our situations.  The Holy Spirit will prompt us, the Holy Spirit wants to give us the opportunities to demonstrate the goodness of God in our everyday lives, in practical circumstances as we walk open to God.

Therefore we just need to identify the needs before us and do what we can, they may not be major events, but they are all significant before God. This is very evident in one of the most popular events in the Bible, the feeding of the 5000. It can be read in John 6:1-14, where we see Jesus feeds 5000 with very little. Many times we only focus on the great miracle that Jesus performed, but we neglect to identify one important element. It was a small boy playing His small part that ultimately led to this great miracle. A small thing was turned into such a big thing. A good deed was turned into a God deed. Our good deeds, our good works, it is when we play our small part that we realise we are all part of Gods great BIG plan!

It starts with ordinary people doing ordinary things, God, an extraordinary God turns it into an amazing thing!

Every good work done in faith will have a supernatural result!

Always remember that when you are serving, its all for God's glory. Always give God the praise, for we have nothing except from our Lord and Savior.